CBS Sports: Spencer Rattler, Breece Hall in Top 5 NFL Draft Eligible Players in 2021
It’s full offseason mode for college football, but as we look ahead to next fall, some of the biggest stars will be in the Big 12 Conference, and that has become consensus, even at the national media level.
CBS Sports writer Barrett Sallee took an early look at the top NFL Draft eligible players who will take the field in 2021 and two of his Top 5 players came from the Big 12 Conference.
The first was Oklahoma Sooners QB Spencer Rattler, who is also the early 2021 Heisman Trophy favorite.
On Rattler, who was No. 3 on the list behind North Carolina QB Sam Howell and Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Sallee wrote, “Rattler will be a redshirt sophomore in 2021, which should be his last as an amateur before cashing in. His slow start early last season fell by the wayside as he became one of the best quarterbacks in the country during the second half of the season. Don’t be surprised if he wins the Heisman Trophy.”
Rattler finished the 2020 season with 3,031 passing yards, 28 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, while completing 68% of his passes. He also ran for 160 yards and six scores.
Then at No. 5 he listed Iowa State running back Breece Hall, writing, “Hall was the driving force behind the remarkable Iowa State season that concluded with a Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon. Hall had 1,572 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns while adding 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.”
Hall had a season to remember leading the FBS in rushing (1,572) as he rushed for 100 or more yards nine times this season. However he did not win the Doak Walker Award given to the nation’s top running back. He also was second in rushing touchdowns (21) only behind Alabama’s Najee Harris. But perhaps his most impressive stat was his 935 yards after contact which led the nation according to PFF.
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